› added 10 years ago

93

TIL because of its very low freezing point, whale oil saw widespread use in the aerospace industry.

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DQWEP TIL that some skyscrapers have massive pendulums on upper floors to reduce vibrations and swaying
gDyD TIL for over 200 years, Martha’s Vineyard had a very high percentage of deaf citizens due to the founder effect. Virtually everyone was fluent in sign language and deafness was not a social barrier. Martha’s Vineyard sign language went extinct in 1952.
loX6K TIL that California condor chicks were fed with condor puppets to increase egg laying rate and to avoid them imprinting on humans
a8vAo TIL the US started a Crazy Horse monument to rival Mount Rushmore in 1948. While the design features the Chief riding and pointing toward the Black Hills only the face has been completed.
p8Kye TIL that Sagittarius A* - the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way - has a mass 4 million times that of our Sun, but a diameter only 31 times the Sun's. It is so dense that it could fit in the space between the Earth and the Sun, but can attract things 50k light years away.